Fun with the kids.

Today was a day with the kids on a trip. We went Kayakking in the Simpson Bay Lagoon and then out into the ocean. It was a calm day to be on the water;very little wind, the sea was flat like a lake. It was a great day for the kids. Not all of them showed up today for some strange reason, but, overall, we had a great time. Kyakking was first and then to the beach & then I treated them to lunch at Marc's Place Restaurant. It was my gift for the holidays to them. I'm going to "eventually" buy myself a Kyak so that I can enjoy the water on the weekends when I have time to enjoy the sea. It's quiet & tranquil as well as see the island from the water.

This week was a long week for me due to meetings, preparing for next week parent meetings and the list goes on & on....In any event, today was a nice way to end the week for the kids as well as myself. A few more days & I'll be on vacation for almost 2 weeks. I'm tired, so it'll be well deserved to just sit back & relax & read some books.

Here's a piece of my Daily Paradise...

I just wanted to share a piece of my Daily Paradise with those of you who think that Island Life is "just peachy". Believe it or not, I wouldn't change my life right now for anything. Yesterday, we decided it was time to see what the students carried on them to school. So, the Police were invited in to conduct a search on both boys & girls because most people "assume" that only "the boys" are the problems. Below you will be able to read about what was found & what was taken by the Police to get the things out of the hands of these kids.
Remember, I'm dealing with 14-21 year old students each day and there are 220 students enrolled at my school. The students were not informed that the Police were going to arrive, enter every classroom and search bodies as well as back packs that the kids use to carry their ummmm, books! Weapons were found, (no guns) mostly knives, machetes, double edge knives used for "slicing" in both directions-left & right on the swing up and then down.
Why would the kids carry these weapons you might be asking yourself? Alot of these kids have Societal Pressures that if they aren't fighters, then they become the Victims of the Stronger Ones. We do have gangs on the island and I know that I have Gang Members in class. I've been confronted a few times, challenged, had a student put his chest up to mine and was looking for a reaction. He was suprised to see that I actually put more pressure on his chest with mine and advanced towards him rather than him advance on me. We stared each other in the eyes for about 1 minute, (it felt like and hour & felt it wouldn't end positively) still maintaining the pressure on each other's chest. Eventually, through (I think) Respect that the other one wasn't going to back down, he sat down and kept his respect as I did mine. Had I backed down, eventually I would have had to deal with the other 12 boys in that class at some point in the future. The last thing I could do was to not back back down and lose all of their respect. On the way out, he shook my hand and patted me on the shoulder. Since then, no probem and he started to work on the assignments.
I can honestly say that I have "almost" ALL of those kids Respect in the entire school. There are a few who still want to challenge, but, most of the kids warn the individual that I won't back down from them if they start something.
I am not a bulley by any means and I am certainly not stupid. But, I do know that these kids need somebody to watch out for them, show them that I care by a pat on the back and a Good Morning at the gate and entrance Everyday! These kids now shake my hand, give me a Boop, (which is where the kids touch knuckles to your hand in a closed fist). Some kids will even give me a hug around the shoulders and ask me if I'm doing okay?
I honestly care about these kids and I think, (I hope) they know it through my actions. They know that my door is Always Open for them, to come in and speak to me if they have something to talk about because most of the time, nobody listens at home. They know what is said, stays with me unless it involves something where they could get hurt or somebody else. I've even had kids that I know are in gangs, come in and cried like a baby because someboy at home told him outright that he was "worth nothing in life" the night before.
I Love these kids believe it or not. I'm learning about what these kids have to deal with in their private lives at home and what they have to deal with each day.
Weapons is NOT the answer. We've had discussions about the weapons in school and hopefully they will choose another path, rather than a path of aggression and crime. I can only try my best to let them know they have "other options" in Life!

Trivial Pursuit

Last night the satellite was down for some reason, possibly a storm interfering with reception. Here it was another Sunday night, Phil is off and the satellite is down. ugh! So, we decided to play Trivial Pursuit 25th Year Aniversary Editionthat we ordered a few weeks ago from Hasbro Toy Company. Those of you who played the Old Version of Trivial Pursuit are in for a BIG surprise as to the rules of the new game. Questions are well thought out and a lot of research went into the making of this game, questions as well as the rules. We played for a few hours, laughing and joking about some of the questions & their answers. I'm not a Wings Band fan, so of course I answered those wrong. Phil, not knowing who Axel Rose is from Guns & Roses answered those questions wrong. on and on, laugh and laugh....Did you know the World's Top Ten Largest Mountain Ranges are ALL located in China? Questions range from 1-6; 1 being the easiest & 6 being the "more challenging" questions. Of course, after rolling the dice, most of mine landed on a 5 or a 6 giving me the more difficult questions. Overall, there are a few hundred cards and thousands of questions. The end result is that Phil won the game on a question from the 1 category. lol
Those of you who like games, challenges and a night of laughs, go out and get yourself the new edition of Trivial Pursuit 25th Aniversary Edition. It's a good night to share with your best buddy! lol

Travelling Dogs

Being an American Indian, throughout the Mohegan Tribe, our dogs are known as "The Travelling Dogs." They've made the front page of the Mohegan Newspaper. (click on the pictures to enlarge)

Caramel as you can see from the picture was a puppy when we found him on the side of the road near Baie Rouge, a beach on the island of St. Martin. He had a strong character as a puppy & it carried over into his adulthood. Piccola was found abandonned on another beach called Cupecoy as an adult dog. When we found her, we didn't even know what color her hair was because the mainge was taking over her body to the point of "almost death". Well, as you can see, both are doing well and have been on both sides of the ocean as well as the states. .

Caramel & Piccola (to the right) on a river
in Upstate New York.

Phil with Piccola & Caramel on the Champs Elyses

Paris, France

For me, Paris is a special place, the magic, romance, history. It is absolutely magic. (to the right)
Me, Phil, Piccola & Caramel at the Eiffel Tower, Paris,

France.

Me, Piccola, Caramel sitting on top of a 7,000 year old Dolmen, which was used as a temple before the Middle Ages. Located in the Cevenne Region in the south of France.

Beach is La Grande Motte on the Mediterranean

Sea in the south of France. (to the right) One of my favorite beaches.

Me sitting on a wall with the pups in the Cevenne Region Southern France above the town of Florac on the way to the plateau called The Causse Mejean. It is divided by a canyon going through the middle.

On Phil's family property dating back to the Middle Ages. The river runs through the property that flows under a bridge from the Middle Ages that was made with no cement or concrete of any kind. The bricks fit together like a puzzle and is still standing. The bridge is arched in the center. (below)

Le Pond du Gard Bridge-Aquaduct that dates
back to over 7,000 years built by Augustus. It
carried 1 million gallons of water per day to the
city of Nimes to water the gardens & for drinking.

This is Caramel on the Via Domitia which is the Roman Antique Road built about 118 BC between Rome and what is now Barcelona. If you look closely, you can see the indentation of the horse carts in the stone. Did we step back in time for this or what? Caramel & Piccola had a great time in this area this day. Built in the south of France above Montpellier.

Notice that we spend alot of time in the south of France because Phil's family is from this area.

Rusty & Bobby Lee

I was reading through my Blog and realized that I didn't include two of the "little ones." The two that I hadn't added to my Blog are Rusty & Bobby Lee. (if you click on all of the photos on this Blog, you can enlarge them.)

To start out, Rusty (a cat), imposed himself on us. One night, we were having dinner, watching tv and this little rusty colored cat came onto the terrace having no regard for Caramel or the other animals. We had never seen him before, never heard him; he just arrived from somewhere. Meow, Meow, Meow and he was basically telling us that he was adopting us rather than us adopting him. Caramel being the Sheik of the Animal Kingdom of our house was a bit confused with the situation because normally animals sense Caramel's presence and go the other way. But, not this little cat. He stayed at the house & the next day he rubbed himself against Caramel, grabbed Caramel's neck, (Caramel still confused as to what was taking place), played with Caramel and even Caramel had no choice in the matter that this cat was here to stay. Well, his name became Rusty, (so original) & he became part of the family. He loves Phil & even speaks to Phil when Phil is home. The interesting thing is that when I come home from work, Rusty is nowhere to be seen or heard of. As soon as Phil arrives & Rusty hears his voice, this cat comes running, meow, meow, meow. He loves Phil, and is just starting to take to me, (almost a year later). Phil & I always say that he must have been born around the time that our cat Clyde died. He has a very similar character as Clyde. Clyde was the only animal that Caramel would allow to be so close to him. Caramel lets Rusty do whatever he wants to do and they are very close. Caramel, I think, knows that Rusty will do whatever he wants so he's adjusted. He's with us since 12th Sept. 07

The next little one that I didn't include in my Blog is Bobby Lee, AKA-(also known as): "Piglet". Why Piglet? She loves to eat and makes the sound of a pig. When she runs, she sounds like a pig. When she is dreaming, she sound slike a pig. It's true!

Bobby Lee was another abandoned dog that was left in Oyster Pond, where we live. I had seen her on and off, but thought that she belonged to somebody because she's a Britney Spaniel. After about 2 weeks, because she was surviving and seemed to be alright, I realized that she was abandoned. One night she came to the restaurant to eat. Well, she too imposed herself on us because she followed us home and never left. The next day, we took her to the vet, gave her shots, some medicine for the beginning stages of mainge, and an ear infection.

We didn't plan on another animal, but, island life doesn't give you a choice if you love animals. She's been with us a year this Nov. 9th 07. She has this fascination for the sea and she loves to chase birds and crabs on the beach. In all of the years that we live here, (10 plus years), I will never get use to the neglect, mistreatment and abandonment of animals. It has gotten better, but, still exists. I can honestly say that I don't want to adopt anymore animals, but, if I need to intervene to help out for the short term, I will. But, in all honesty, I've done my part in my life in adopting animals. So, above you see recent pictures of the little ones. In order: Bobby Lee (name comes from the movie; "To Wong Fu, Thanks Julie Newmar"), Happy, Caramel & Piccola. The picture was taken on the beach in front of the house 2 weeks ago.

Friends Forever!

So, the mysterious' Sherry's & my past. Somewhere we were inseparable. We were friends outside of work & we had a professional part also, being that we had worked together in the same school district as well as the same school. School outsings; we were there day & night. We were even the bride & groom at one of the fashion shows to raise money for the kids. (If the kids or our collegues knew about my personal life) The weekends were another story. We would have dinner someplace & then go to the clubs afterwards, practically all night, if friends weren't having parties at their houses. I remember one year for Thanksgiving, we even made an attempt at 9pm to drive to Atlantic City. The traffic was too heavy so we decided to turn around and go home and party. (of course in these days we didn't have mapquest.com, it was all maps in hand)

I went off on an exit into some Bronx neighborhood & thought we were going to be killed. Two white people in a fancy car in a gang neighborhood getting stares. You can't imagine what we were thinking.... Somewhere, luckily it was Thanksgiving & maybe the people in the street felt sorry for us suspecting we were lost. lol Parties at family get together for birthdays & holidays were special. After I bought the house on Long Island, I had offered Sherry & Jen (her daughter) to move in with me. Sherry had a 1 bedroom apartment & Jen had the only bedroom & Sherry opted to sleep on her pull out sofa. After considering the option, Sherry thought that it would be best for Jen & her to stay alone as a family. The offer always remained open if Sherry & Jen ever changed their minds.

We're picking up from where we left off through e-mails & Facebook (when I learn how to use it & not remove or add something that shouldn't be there), and plan to get together in the spring when I go back to the states to "finally" move the NY house contents to the Florida house. It will be great to be together again.

Sherry & Jen; My Friends from so long ago....

I am very Happy Today.
I thought that our contact was lost forever! I managed to locate my friend Sherry through a school bulletin I found on line. I e-mailed & she e-mailed back. We worked together in the same school years after high school graduation. Sherry was my "party buddy" on weekends & I was hers.
Oh how I remember the Jagermeister Shots at the bars. The partying would go on into the night & the fun & laughs & secrets we had. We were each other's Confidant & always watched out for each other.
We haven't been in touch since I left New York over 10 years ago.
Today, I was reminising of those days so long ago of the "special friendship" we shared. We were always there for each other & we were only a phone call away or a 10 minute car drive to each other's homes. During the 10 plus years, I never forgot Sherry or her daughter Jen who is now 16 years old. I saw pictures of her today & the reality of time passed, has hit home.
We have so much to catch up on & I can't wait! I e-mailed Sherry back, but, 10 plus years of being absent in each other's life can't be sumized in one e-mail.
I'll update the progression of our rekindled friendship. Wow!